Samsung sees 80% surge in third-quarter operating profit
Samsung has said its third-quarter operating profit was up 80% from over a year earlier, a forecast-beating result likely to have stemmed from strong sales of electronics components and a weakness in the local currency.
Shares of Samsung Electronics jumped by 7.2%, its biggest daily gain in more than a year, following the announcement.
The South Korean smartphone maker said its operating profit for the July-September quarter was 7.3 trillion won (€5.5bn).
The result showed that Samsung was on track for a recovery. Its operating profit has gained quarter to quarter for the past year since falling to 4.1 trillion won a year ago.
But analysts said Samsung’s solid result was not because of an improvement in Galaxy smartphone sales. In fact, they estimated that Samsung’s profit from its smartphone division declined from a year earlier even as handset shipments probably went up.
Instead, favourable foreign exchange rates, such as South Korean currency’s sharp drop against the US dollar, and strong performance in its display and chip businesses helped Samsung, according to the analysts.
Sales rose 7% to 51 trillion won (€39bn) for the quarter.
Samsung will announce its net profit and earnings breakdowns for each of its business divisions later this month.
